Adjustable height continuous mining machine with adjustment equalizer



June 2%, 1955 Filed Dec. 11, 1953 J. S. ROBBINS ET AL ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE WITH ADJUSTMENT EQUALIZER 2 Shee'ts-Sheet 1 INVENTORS JAMES S. ROBBINS CARL AWILMS ueua ATTORNEY June 1955 J. 5. ROBBINS ET AL J Q ADJU ABLE HEIGHT CONTINUOUS MINING MA NE WITH ADJUSTMENT EQUALIZER Filed Dec. ll, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1llllll- VENTORS JAMES .ROBBINS FIG. 2 BY CARL A. WILMS THEN? ATTORNEY ates-lied June 28, 1955 ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT CONTINUOUS lVllNlNG MlACHINE WITH ADJUSTMENT EQUALIZER James 5. Robbins and Carl A. Wilms, Chicago, Ill., as-

signors to Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, llL, a corporation of Illinois Application December 11, 1953, Serial No. 397,596

3 Claims. (Cl. 262-29) This invention relates to improvements in mining machines of the multiple boring head type adapted to cut contiguous bores in advance of the machine. Such machines, commonly known as McKinlay type miners, have a pair of boring heads with radial cutter arms, which boring heads are disposed on parallel laterally spaced horizontal axes. Auxiliary horizontally disposed upper and lower cutter bars are also provided which follow immediately behind the boring heads to modify the circular bore pattern of the latter to produce flat floor and roof surfaces. Such cutter bars are frequently adjustable for vertical extension or retraction.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a machine of the type above mentioned, with an equalizing mechanism for extending or retracting the upper and lower cutter bars simultaneously to different vertical planes relative to the boring heads.

A further object is to provide means operating in conjunction with the usual hydraulic extension and retraction devices for the upper and lower cutter bars so as to prevent binding of the hydraulic devices by maintaining the cutter bars in substantial parallelism with each other in all positions of vertical extension or retraction thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from time to time as the following description proceeds.

The invention may best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a mining machine showing one embodiment of the present invention, with certain parts, such as one of the cutter heads, broken away for convenience of illustration;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail section taken on line 22-42 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary detail section taken longitudinally of one of the side members of the equalizer frame;

Figure 4 Figure 3.

Referring now to details of the machine shown in Figure 1, said machine, as viewed from the front, includes a frame indicated generally at 10, which provides a support for the cutting means, including a pair of cutter heads, one of which is indicated generally at 11 and the other of which is omitted excepting for a main bearing for its drive shaft, indicated at 12. As usual, the cutter heads each have a plurality of cutter arms 13, herein three in number, extending radially from a central hub 14 connected to the front end of a drive shaft (not shown) supported in the bearings 12, so that said cutter heads rotate on parallel horizontal axes spaced at opposite sides of the machine and with their cutter arms 13 arranged to rotate in non-interfering overlapping relation with each other. The outer ends of each of the cutter arms may also be telescopically mounted with respect to the main portion of said arms so as to vary the cutting diameter of the boring heads, when desired.

is a detail section taken on line 44 of and lower cutter bars 15 and 16.

Machines of this character are also frequently provided with upper and lower cutter bars 15 and 16 arranged in parallel relation to each other and also to a plane including the axes of rotation of the cutter heads 11, 11. These cutter bars form guides for an endless cutter chain 17 which is trained along the upper and lower edges of the cutter bars 15 and 16. The cutter chain is provided to remove the depending and upstanding cusps left by the two cutter heads 11, 11. Said chain is also trained over a series of end sprockets 18, 19 on the upper cutter bar, over end sprockets 20, 21 on the lower cutter bar, and one or more intermediate sprockets, one of which is indicated at 22 and may constitute the drive sprocket for the cutter chain.

As is also common practice with machines of this general type, the material dislodged from the working face by the boring heads 11 and the cutter chain 22 is directed toward the center of the machine and is moved into an open throat, indicated generally at 23, for engagernent by an endless conveyor 24 by which the material is carried for discharge at the rear end of the machine.

The structure and general arrangement of parts heretofore mentioned are more or less conventional with mining machines of the general type to which this invention relates, so that further details of construction need not be described excepting as to features relating to the extension and retraction of the upper and lower cutter bars 15 and 16 to which the present invention is especially directed.

As shown in Figure 1, the upper cutter bar 15 has a pair of piston rods 30, 30 near the opposite ends thereof adapted to be actuated by hydraulic jacks 31, 31 carried on the frame it Similarly, the lower cutter bar 16 has a pair of parallel upright piston rods 32, 32 adapted to be actuated by hydraulic jacks 33, 33.

Equalizing mechanism for controlling the extension and retraction of the upper and lower cutter bars 15 and 16 comprises a pair of upright guide members 36, 36. Referring for instance to the guide member 36 at the right side of Figure 1, said member is disposed in parallel relation to and closely adjacent the longitudinal axes of the piston rods 36 and 32, which operate to extend or retract the right ends of the upper and lower cutter bars 15 and 16. A control rod 38 has its upper end fixed to the cutter bar 15 and its lower end guided for vertical sliding movement relative to the upright guide member 36. In the form shown herein, control rod 38 is generally circular in cross section (see Figure 4) and fits in a correspondingly shaped guideway 39 in upright guide member 36.

A similar control rod 40 is fixed at its lower end to the lower cutter bar 16 and has a generally circular upper end portion slidably engaged in a correspondingly shaped guideway 41 in the guide member 36 opposite the guideway 39 of the upper control rod 38 (see Figures 3 and 4). The opposed inner faces of the two guide rods 38 and 40 are formed as toothed racks 38a and 40a respectively, spaced from each other and engaged by a pinion 43 fixed on a cross shaft 44. The latter shaft has suitable bearing at opposite ends in the upright guide member 36, and extends transversely across the front of the machine, where it has pinion 43 controlling the operation of the duplicate control mechanism for the left ends of the upper In the form shown herein, the cross shaft 44 is hollow, and pinion 43 is formed integrally with a shouldered stub shaft 45 fitting in the end of said hollow shaft 44 and welded thereto as at As shown in Figure 2, the guide members 36 are fixed to the frame 10 and jacks 31 and 33, as by welding at 4'7, 48.

The use and operation of the device is as follows:

Due to the toothed engagement by the pinion 43 of the racks 38a and 40a of the upper and lower control rods 38 and 40 at each side of the machine, the adjacent ends of the upper and lower cutter bars 15 and 16 will be extended or retracted by the hydraulic jacks 31 and 33 in equal proportions to each other, regardless of any variations in pressure upon the upper and lower hydraulic jacks. Also because of the cross connection between the two pinions 43, 43 on the cross shaft 44, the two pairs of upper and lower hydraulic jacks 31, 31 and 33, 33 will operate to extend or retract both ends of the upper and lower cutter bars in equal proportions, regardless of any variations in pressure of the several hydraulic jacks, thereby insuring parallel motion of the cutter bars in all positions of permissible adjustment thereof and eliminating any tendency of the piston rods to bind during the operation of the jacks.

Although we have shown and described a certain embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that we do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a mining machine having a cutter head frame including two vertically spaced parallel chain carrying cutter bars mounted at the front end thereof for cutting kerfs, and means for adjusting said cutter bars toward and away from each other in substantially the same vertical plane, the combination of an equalizing device independent of said adjusting means comprising a pair of guide rods rigidly connected adjacent opposite ends of the upper cutter bar and projecting downwardly therefrom, a second pair of guide rods rigidly connected adjacent the opposite ends of the lower cutter bar and projecting upwardly therefrom, the inner end portion of each downwardly projecting guide rod extending in telescopic relation with an opposed upwardly projecting guide rod at the same side of the cutter head frame, a pair of vertically elongated guide members fixed on the cutter head frame, each affording sliding support for the two telescopic inner end portions at its respective side of the frame, and means on each of said guide members insuring equal extension or retraction of its respective telescopic end portions relative to each other.

2. An equalizer construction in accordance with claim 1, wherein the means for insuring equal extension or retraction of the inner end portions is common to both guide members to provide uniform extension or retraction of both of said cutter bars in parallel planes.

3. A11 equalizer construction in accordance with claim 2, wherein the telescopic inner end portions on each guide member are formed with opposed spaced racks, and the means for providing uniform extension or retraction of both of the cutter bars includes a cross shaft having pinions on opposite ends thereof engaged respectively between the opposed racks of said telescopic inner end portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,210,919 Joy Aug. 13, 1940 

